Page 39 of Wild Night

His lips twitch into a smirk. “Why the fuck would I want to?”

“Shocker,” I warn.

“I’ll take the boys. Maverick and Goose love to get some strange. They’re down for a road trip.”

And that is that.

At least to Shocker it is. I’m not sure what the fuck is going to happen, but I can be assured that no matter what the fuck happens, Shocker will ensure that Posey is safe, for Dakota’s sake, if nothing else, and I’m banking on that.

One hundred fucking percent.

POSEY

I should be glad that Lucian allows me to put some clothes on. He shouts at me to hurry up and get dressed. So I do just that. But instead of putting on just anything, I decide that I need to wear something I can run in because I will be running. There is absolutely no way my story ends like this.

Not after I found Dakota. Not after I found Ivy. I refuse. Even if Ivy and I don’t work out, there are Dakota and Nathan. They are my family, and I want to know them. I want to have the opportunity to love them and show them that love.

What I don’t want is to be collateral in whatever this shit is. This shit that I don’t know a damn thing about. I do not deserve to die for it, so as I slide on my leggings, a snug-fitting T-shirt, a zip-up hoodie, socks, and my favorite sneakers, I attempt to hype myself up, at least on the inside.

Fight.

That is what I repeat to myself over and over.

Fight.

Then, the last thing I do, aside from dropping my phone in the inner zip pocket of my hoodie, I put my hair up in a high ponytail. These clothes are a far cry from what I would normally wear to go out in public, but I don’t care. This isn’t about appearing polished and put together.

This is aboutsurvival.

“That is an interesting choice to die in. I figured you’d be draped in your coveted jewelry and expensive shoes I bought you, carrying one of your prized bags.”

It’s true. Lucian bought me all that stuff, but not because I demanded he do it. Hell, not because I even asked. This man was trying to seduce me, and it worked. He basically bought me with gifts, and I let him.

I’m no different than the girls at the Vicious Reapers clubhouse. That realization slaps me in the face, and I want to burst out in tears. I don’t, but really freaking want to. Because there I was, judging them when at the end of the day, I am exactly like them… maybe just a little flashier.

“I don’t plan on dying,” I state.

He snorts but otherwise doesn’t speak. Instead, he grips my bicep tightly, so tightly that I know I’m going to have bruises there that will no doubt match the ones around my neck from his fingers.

God.

What a complete asshole. I don’t know why I thought I loved this man. I don’t know why I thought he would be a good choice to marry and make babies with. I’m an idiot. I saw money, gifts, and things and assumed there would be a security I’d never experienced before.

Epic fail.

Hugely epic.

Lucian drags me to the car, opens the door, and nonchalantly tosses me into the passenger seat before he slams the door and walks around the front of the car. I watch as he sinks down in the driver’s seat and starts the engine. But he doesn’t shift it intoDriveimmediately.

Instead, he turns to me, his eyes connecting to mine. I can sense the hate pouring out of him, and I don’t understand it at all. I haven’t done anything to him. He’s done it all to me tenfold.

“Hand me your phone,” he demands.

I don’t know why I thought I could get away with keeping my phone. Maybe I had hoped he’d overlooked the fact I had it. ThatI kept it and zipped it up. But he didn’t. Reaching into the pocket on the inside of my hoodie, I unzip it and take my phone out, then reluctantly slip it into his palm.

Before I realize what’s happening, he reaches backward and slams the back of his hand against my face. My whole body shifts and my head slams against the glass of the passenger window.

“Stupid bitch,” Lucian growls.

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